BREAKING fast with 32 beautiful children of the Sungai Pinang Home and School for the Orphans in Klang recently was a most memorable and touching experience. It is true that occasional visitors to shelter homes would find the tenants happy and merry. But the truth of the matter is that such perception is, by and…
“HOW often do you go to the temple, Uncle?” A neighbour’s young son who attends a Chinese School posed this question to yours truly recently. A most polite and lovely question indeed, but it would have been much sweeter if he had mentioned “mosque” or “masjid” instead of temple. Earlier in November, a concert was…
AT a recent IKIM workshop on the promulgation of Islamic standards of management, something akin to the ISO 9000, the issue of evaluating moral values also came to the forefront. It was argued that the major problem of institutionalising religious-inspired standards in organisations is in ensuring that both employees and employers abide by these standards.…
AH CHONG had been feeling rather awkward these past few weeks. Previously an early riser, he now finds it difficult to get off the bed at the sound of the alarm clock in the morning. Lying awake in bed for hour after hour is becoming a newly acquired habit. Nothing seems to interest him anymore,…
A VISIT to the Muir Woods National Monument, 19km north of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco, is indeed a treasured experience. The scenery of the well-preserved redwood forest is picture perfect. Among its variety of trees is a coast redwood more than 400 years old, twice as old as independent America itself. Imagine…
ACCORDING to recent media reports, like never before, the coming US presidential election will see religion or, rather, religiosity as an important factor in determining the fate of the candidates. Each candidate is trying his level best to project a devout image of himself. The issue of religion is said to be even more vital…
TODAY is the final day of the 21st International Union of Forestry Research Organisation World Congress in Kuala Lumpur. It took, among other things, a long look at commercial agroforestry. Last month the Ministry of Agriculture successfully organised a revitalised Maha 2000 (Malaysian Agricultural, Horticultural and AgroTourism Show). These are two of the many programmes…
THE revelation by the Inspector-General of Police of plans by a mujahideen-inspired group to launch a “holy” war to destabilise the Government must have sent chills down the spines of many law-abiding Malaysians. Nevertheless, looking at the trend of events that had been unfolding in the country and elsewhere in the world, this revelation was…
RABI AL-AWWAL, the third month of the Muslim calendar signifies the season of spring. Seeds split open to generate countless types of plants. Leaves begin to grow in abundance while flowers start blooming. It is a time for rebirth and renewal. The greatest form of renewal for mankind came on the twelfth night of Rabi…
THE article in this forum a fortnight ago was about a tale of two communities, one in the West and one in the East, the former basking in the glory of victory and the latter grimacing in the agony of defeat. This week’s piece is on yet another tale, a tale of two events that…
